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What does it take for a student in NYC to be successful? Josh, Deb, and Yiatin sit down this week with Brooklyn parent Michael Hall whose essay, The Blueprint, generated a lot of buzz among parents over his strategies for student success.

Schooled is taking the week off, but we’re leaving you with a little homework. That includes reading Michael Hall’s “The Blueprint” ahead of his upcoming appearance on the show. Read Michael Hall’s “The Blueprint” Join the PLACE NYC Facebook group

The Schooled email inbox is overflowing so Deb, Yiatin, and Josh dig into listener emails on a range of topics from the history of gifted programs to ELLs to the racial composition of schools in the wake of revived integration debates in the aftermath of the Nikole Hannah-Jones article.

In a major shakeup, NY’s Board of Regents voted to end the Regents exams as a graduation requirement. Is the replacement a better option? What stirred this dramatic change? Josh and Yiatin discuss this new direction with guest Neetu Arnold, an education policy researcher at the Manhattan Institute and author of “Why Is New York Dumping Its High School Exit Exam?” recently published in both the City Journal magazine and the Washington Post .

Nikole Hannah-Jones published an explosive follow up “In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?” to her controversial 2016 New York Times article “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City” and questions if she failed her child after intentionally sending her child to a low income, predominantly black school as her way of improving outcomes for what she called racially segregated schools. Yiatin, Josh, and Deb break down her story with guest Mona Davids, a parent advocate and former public school parent of two and the President of Social Impact Strategies.

Deb, Yiatin, and Josh are back for another year of diving into the intricacies of the nation's largest school district. We look back at the summer and look forward to what's going to happen over the next school year. Welcome back!

School is back in session and so are we! Season two starts this week, and we'll see you Thursdays.

As the school year comes to an end this week, Yiatin, Josh, and Deb reflect back on the top stories and policies this year and read the tea leaves on what the top issues will be for the fall.

School may technically still be in session, but for many New York City students the year is already over. This week, the hosts explore the strange limbo of June, when Regents exams take over school buildings, classrooms empty out, and serious questions emerge about whether the city’s academic calendar still makes sense. They also unpack the latest developments in New York’s ongoing class-size battle, including a new two-year extension, controversial teacher bonuses, and the growing gap between the law’s ambitions and the realities facing schools. Finally, they discuss the political pressures facing Chancellor Kamar Samuels and what his recent controversy reveals about the competing interests shaping education policy in New York City.

Deb, Yiatin, and Josh sit with City Councilmember Phil Wong who lays out the hot button issues being discussed on the Education Committee like generative AI, the digital state test fiasco, budget issues, and the Gifted and Talented bill he is co-sponsoring.

A new report on declining enrollment projections in NYC by Danyela Souza-Egorov, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and public school parent, are coming to a head and empty seats have Yiatin, Josh, and Deb asking — what happens when a class size is too small? Plus, a controversial new incentive for teachers in oversized classrooms raises eyebrows.

This week on Schooled, Deb, Yiatin and Josh unpack Harvard’s controversial move to cap the number of A grades and what it says about grade inflation from Ivy League campuses to New York City classrooms. The conversation explores whether grades still measure merit, how inflated standards shape student expectations, and why subjective grading creates problems for admissions and accountability alike. They also dive into shrinking 3K enrollment, mayoral control, class size mandates, and the city’s growing education budget despite declining student numbers. At the center of it all is one persistent question: if schools refuse to measure success honestly, how can anyone know what’s actually working?

As Albany budget negotiations continue to unfold, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine joins Josh, Yiatin, and Deb for a timely conversation about accountability, education funding, and the forces shaping school budgets. Along the way, he hints at changes he’d like to make and offers a serious warning about what the future could hold for education spending.

Yiatin, Deb, and Josh lead off this week’s episode with a discussion on other funding streams that schools tap into such as PAs, grants, and Title I, and how that impacts outcomes. Plus, a closer look at a new tax credit for education.

A new eye-opening article came out in The Atlantic about NYC’s education budget, “A Mediocre Public-School Education for Just $40,000 a Pupil” that has everyone talking. Josh, Yiatin, and Deb sit with the author and Assistant Editor at The Atlantic, Marc Novicoff, in a candid discussion on how the ballooning budget got where it is today, and why it’s unlikely to change.